When looking ahead to the tiebreakers that would be needed in the event of a tie atop the division with the Bears, I am pleased to report that the Vikings are in GREAT position. Let's take a look:

Firstly, the only thing I am going to assume is that the Vikings beat Detroit. If one can assume anything, it must be this.

Case: Minnesota wins 2 out of 3 from: (@Ari, Atl, NYG)

This leaves the Vikings at 10-6. Chicago would then need to go 4-0 (Jac, NO, GB, @Hou) in order to tie us atop the division. In this case, we would both be 4-2 in the division, so we would then move on to the next tiebreaker, record in common games (AFC South and NFC South). The Vikings are 4-3 with Atl remaining. The Bears would be 4-4. So if the Vikings beat Atlanta, they win the division. If they lose to Atlanta, we would move on to the next tiebreaker, which is Conference record. Minnesota would be 8-4, and Chicago would be 7-5.

Summary: If the Vikings win 2 of their last 3, Chicago would need to go 4-0 to tie. But Chicago would lose any potential tiebreaker.

Verdict: Vikings chance of winning division a 100% MORTAL LOCK.

Case: Vikings win 1 out of 3 from (@Ari, Atl, NYG). Vikings finish 9-7. If Chicago wins out (4-0 against Jac, NO, GB, @Hou), then they win the division. If Chicago wins 3 out of 4, then we would be tied at 9-7. If Chicago's loss is to GB, then we would win the divisional record tiebreaker. If Chicago's loss is to Jac, NO, or Hou, then we would proceed to a common games tiebreaker. Chicago would be 3-5 in common games. Vikings would be 4-3 + a W or L to Atlanta. So Vikings would win the division.

Summary: If the Vikings win 1 of their last 3, Chicago would need to win all 4 remaining games to win the division. If they go 3-1, the Vikings win all tie breakers.

Verdict: Vikings chances of winning division are extremely good.

Case: Vikings lose all 3 of their remaining games (@Ari, Atl, NYG). This leaves the Vikings at 8-8. If Chicago goes 4-0 or 3-1, they win the division. If they go 2-2, we would be tied at 8-8. If one of Chicago's losses is to GB, we win the divisional record tiebreaker. If Chicago beats GB, we win the common games tiebreaker.

Summary: If the Vikings win 0 of theur last 3, then Chicago would need to go 4-0 or 3-1 over their last 4 to win the division. If they go 2-2, the Vikings win all tiebreakers.

Verdict: Vikings chances of winning the division are alive and healthy, despite potentially gonig into the playoffs with a 3 game losing streak.

Summary of Summaries: In essence, the Vikings will win any tiebreaker againt Chicago, so you can assume that the Vikings have a 2 game lead in the division right now. If we beat Detroit, there are only 3 games remaining, and we'll have at at-worst lead of 2 games over the Bears. So the only way we lose the division is if we only win 1 of our remaining 3 games and Chicago wins all 4 remaining games (highly unlikely), or we lose all 3 remaining games and Chicago wins at least 3 of 4 of their remaining games (certainly possible, certainly not probable).

So there you go. Talk of needing to win 2 of 3 out of @Ari, Atl, NYG is now false. In fact, if we win 1 of these games, the only way we lose the division is if Chicago wins all 4 remaining games. In other words, we are looking good.

Chances of Vikings making the playoffs: 75%